Beth Alexander, center, watches as her husband, Jasper, left, prepares fried chicken during Food Channel filming at Saratoga Race Course in 2006. A proposed change in location for Hatties at the Track this year has put the restaurateur at odds with the track. (Saratogian file photo/photos@saratogian.com)

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Hattie's Restaurant is threatening to leave Saratoga Race Course after being asked to take a less desirable location for the upcoming 2012 meet.

"Hattie's at the Track" was so successful at Restaurant Row, where volume outgrew its space, that the popular fried chicken vendor was moved two years ago to another location across the back yard.

This year, owners Beth and Jasper Alexander have again been asked to consider another site -- the Carousel -- in a space where crepes were previously sold. The Alexanders strongly object to the proposal and have indicated as much with a message on Hattie's Facebook page.

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"This is where NYRA and Centerplate want to move us, way out in no man's land," it says. "I've lived in Saratoga all my life and have operated our booth at the track for years and had no idea they sold crepes here for two years. Do you think the people will find us? Stay tuned ... it may be the end of Hattie's at the Track."

But Steve Travers, head of New York Racing Association customer service, said it's not a definite move. He plans to meet with the Alexanders at 9:30 a.m. today (FRIDAY) in an attempt to resolve the situation.

"Hopefully we can resolve whatever the issue is," he said.

NYRA and Centerplate, which manages the track's restaurants, together decide where various vendors will be located, NYRA spokesman Mark Bardack said.

"More than a dozen local vendors occupy space at Saratoga Race Course during the popular summer meet and dozens more would gladly do so if space were available," he said. "NYRA has enjoyed a strong relationship with Hattie's over the years, as it has with all of its local restaurateurs and vendors who are welcomed on-track. A preliminary decision was made to relocate Hattie's to the Carousel area, where it would serve as an anchor for an area that NYRA is putting significant resources behind to redevelop as a signature hospitality space. NYRA values Hattie's partnership and its continued presence at Saratoga Race Course where finite real estate makes any on-track location highly desirable and in great demand by many other local and regional establishments."

However, Beth Alexander said, "We're hoping we can resolve it and stay in our present location. We feel like our visitors have a right to know where to find us."

She said the Carousel site "is off the beaten path," adding that "it's not visible."

In an email to The Saratogian earlier in the week, she said, "Hattie's is being pushed out of our spot at the track into a very undesirable space and may not be able to operate out of it."

She said Hattie's, after outgrowing its original space at Restaurant Row, was moved to a bigger space there "at our expense, of course."

"We had two great years there outperforming all other vendors. We pay a percentage back to NYRA and Centerplate to operate out of the track, and we basically give out more than we take home," Alexander said in her email.

Alexander charged that Centerplate saw how lucrative Hattie's space was and wanted it for themselves.

"What they fail to understand is it's because of Hattie's that the place did so well," Alexander said. "When it was Saratoga Chicken, it never performed well."

"I think they proved how much they just don't care about the hometown 'mom and pop' shops. We are tired of fighting the battle. We love being at the track, but we can't expect our customers to hop all over the place to find us, and we can't keep pouring money into equipment only to be faced with broken promises," Alexander said.

Bardack, however, said NYRA is a strong supporter of the local community.